BUDGET TIME IS HERE

Every year, in July, the CDD adopts the budget for the next fiscal year. This year it is for October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, also known as FY2024. Money in this budget goes first to pay the fixed rate bonds that were used to finance Harmony’s original land and development costs and the remainder is used to manage Harmony’s infrastructure— the landscaping, irrigation system, stormwater systems including ponds, alleys, street trees, sidewalks, docks, boardwalks, pools, splash pad, playgrounds, basketball court, parks, pavilions, fences, community garden, doggie potti stations, trash cans, grills and picnic tables, and much more.

This has been a costly fiscal year for Harmony both in time and money. There has been a lot to do as our community just passed its 23rd birthday. Additionally, this post-Covid year has seen enormous inflation, serious back order isues, labor shortages, and vendors having so much work that they are unresponsive even after a contract is awarded. Here are some of items that have stressed our budget and caused us to significantly spend into our reserves.

Landscaping– The CDD had tried to stay with Servello for landscaping, as they were the least expensive and had promised to ‘up their game.’ The CDD had based the Landscape budget number on the cost of Servello’s services. Unfortunately, Servello’s services did not improve, so the CDD changed landscape companies 4 months into this fiscal year. This increased the landscaping costs by $120,000 more than budgeted. Based on the feedback from Harmony’s residents, the difference in the service is well worth it.

Irrigation– The majority of Harmony’s irrigation system has been severely damaged by our maturing trees, old age (20+ years), and damage from golf carts. Benchmark, the CDD’s new landscape service, has been working diligently to restore our irrigation system to its former self. You have probably seen them standing in deep holes fixing these pipes. This work has been expensive, but we expect to eventually see savings in both the health of our plant material and in the monthly cost of reclaimed water (currently from $15000 to $20,000/month). To date, the

CDD has paid or encumbered $65,000 to bring our system up to 75% functionality.

Splash Pad- The splash pad has been down for over a year and the repair bills keep mounting. Hopefully, it will be up and running by the time you read this article. At least that is what we have been promised, yet again. Over the past 6 years or more, the splash pad has been struggling to operate, needing constant service and repair. This has been due to a combination of the very hard water in Harmony and an aging pump with a disintegrating impeller. When the pump’s impeller finally degraded to the point that it would no longer pump water, the CDD discovered this style of pump was no longer being made, so the impeller could not be replaced. We had to purchase a new, very specific sized pump which was not readily available. Once it finally arrived and was installed, we discovered that the extensive system of pipes needed to be fully cleaned and the solenoids upgraded. No less than four different vendors have attempted to restore the splash pad to its former glory and we are hoping this final vendor will be able to complete the job. All of this work has cost Harmony over $30,000. Expensive, yes, but reasonable compared to the $300,000 complete splash pad rebuild that Celebration is considering for their splash pad that is the same age.

Boats– Harmony’s boats are definitely showing their age. So far this year the CDD has rehabbed the 16’ pontoon boat, replaced the engine on a 20’ pontoon boat, and upgraded the motorsfor the bass boat so it can get back to the dock when the winds pick up.

Stormwater System– In the Estates neighborhood of Harmony, the custom home building has been spread out over the last 15 years and during this time, the various home builders have taken a toll on the stormwater system. Heavy equipment has rolled over the stormwater pipes causing them to separate, cement trucks have washed out into the storm drains causing clogs, and fence companies have driven posts through the pipes causing erosion. This year we spent over $22,000 to repair the damage that was found in the stormwater pipes surrounding the existing homes in the Estates. After the remaining homes are completed, the CDD will have to spend more to finish the repairs to the Estates’ stormwater system.

Alley Repaving- Many of Harmony’s neighborhoods have alleys behind the homes for access to garages, for mail delivery and garbage pick-up, and for neighborhood children to play. These alleys need to be repaved every 15 years and another neighborhood is scheduled to be repaved every 3 years. The paving for the alleys in the two neighborhoods (C-1 and C-2) bounded by the lakefront, the big dog park, the school and Cat Brier was overdue and numerous areas were suffering from potholes and asphalt cave ins. They had been patched and repatched.

Although money had been set aside for this work in Harmony’s reserve fund, the actual cost turned out to be over twice what had been previously anticipated. This project was just recently completed at a cost of $647,200, resulting in a major impact to Harmony’s reserve fund.

By now you have probably received a letter from the CDD informing you that another assessment increase is possible this year. The public hearing on the proposed budget is set for July 27 at 6pm in our usual meeting place at 328 Songbird Circle here in Harmony. Please review the proposed budget which can be found at HarmonyCDD.org under the Public Records tab under Fiscal Records.

None of us want to increase the assessments, but we either increase the assessments, decrease the quality of services, or decrease the recreational services provided by the CDD. Harmony’s recreational services are the only services that the CDD is not statutorily required to provide to residents, so those services can be curtailed or eliminated in an effort to avoid increasing assessments.

As always, please email any or all of your CDD Supervisors with your thoughts, concerns, or ideas on how to improve Harmony. Our community is better when we all work together. The emails for the Supervisors are Kerul@harmonycdd.org, Dan@harmonycdd.org, Lucas@harmonycdd.org, Jo@harmonycdd.org, and Teresa@harmonycdd.org n